Museum & Movie Saturdays

Museum and a Movie Saturdays
In conjunction with Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting, we will be screening the films ¡Qué viva México! at 12 noon and Frida at 2 p.m in the Hill Auditorium every Saturday from February 16 through May 11. Explore the work and lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera with a morning in the galleries and an afternoon film!

Filmed in 1930–1931 by famed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein, ¡Qué viva México! is an archival treasure with striking aesthetics and an avant-garde sensibility that continue to stand the test of time. After meeting Diego Rivera in Moscow, Eisenstein left Russia to make a film about Mexico but was shut down after shooting approximately 30 to 50 hours of footage. He was never given the chance to edit the film himself, so his friend, filmmaker Grigori Alexandrov, edited the footage in 1979, creating the remarkable version we have today. ¡Qué viva México! blurs the boundary between fiction and documentary as it moves from one vignette to the next, oscillating between narrative modes but maintaining an impassioned, romantic vision of the Mexican scene. Whether in the bullfighting ring, joining in Day of the Dead celebrations, or following two lovers' tormented saga, Eisenstein's camera never fails to evoke a distinctly Mexican cultural and visual landscape. Indeed, the description of Mexico offered at the heart of the film — "tender, lyrical, and cruel" — also epitomizes the life and work of the country's greatest cultural royalty: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Free with Museum admission and free to members. ¡Qué viva México! is in Russian with English subtitles.

Frida (2002), starring Salma Hayek in the title role and Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera, chronicles the "passion, politics, and painting" of the famous couple. Directed by Tony Award–winner Julie Taymor, Frida captures the vibrance, theatricality, and spectacle of the Mexican duo's life and art. More than a mere biographical record, Frida allows Kahlo's work to literally come alive as close-ups of her paintings imperceptibly shift into live-action sequences and Hayek's incredible likeness subtly morphs into one of Kahlo’s iconic self-portraits. The film also features an all-star cast, including Diego Luna as Frida's first boyfriend, Antonio Banderas as the painter David Alfaro Siqueiros, Edward Norton as Detroit mogul Nelson Rockefeller, Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky, Ashley Judd as famed photographer and revolutionary Tina Modotti, and Mia Maestro as Cristina Kahlo. Free with Museum admission and free to members.